The Xbox 360 is well-known for the hardware issues that have forced many users to tearfully wave goodbye to consoles as they send them to Redmond for replacement. But for many, once that replacement Xbox is plugged in, another, more insidious problem ...

...the one in which GP explains why the video game bill passed in New York last week is all bark and no bite.

Catch it only on Joystiq...

Last week, GamePolitics was the first game-oriented site to report on a New Haven Advocate story detailing Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg's controversial remarks about Grand Theft Auto IV.

The newspaper reported that Sen. Slossberg, a Democrat, was concerned about a possible rape scene in the game and was considering introducing game-oriented legislation in the upcoming session.

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GameSpot reports that the upcoming Shellshock 2: Blood Trails has been refused classification by Australia's Office of Film and Literature classification over concerns about violent content:

Shellshock 2 is an Eidos game slated for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC platforms, and was due for release in 2009. The game places players in Vietnam War-era Cambodia, where a mysterious chemical dropped into the jungle has had some strange effects on people. An [Australian distributor] Atari spokesperson said there were currently no plans to appeal the banning decision.

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Uh, hold the surf  & turf...

Animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has protested a Colorado sports bar's arcade-like claw game in which diners attempt to snag a live lobster. As reported by Denver Daily:

[PETA] says it is cruel and unusual to keep the lobsters in the Lobster Zone tank only to be boiled alive.

 

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Although Texas-based Gamecock ran a high profile marketing blitz for its politically-tinged Hail to the Chimp, reviewers have voted and the game did not do well.

Variety issued a particularly stinging beatdown:

At first blush, "Hail to the Chimp" looks like a promising mix of edgy political humor with multiplayer party gaming mayhem. But the resulting mashup is a chaotic jumble that's doesn't play well and only loosely is tied to politics at all... "Hail to the Chimp" has about as much of a chance of success as a Dennis Kucinich presidential campaign.

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The firmware update that every PS3 owner has been waiting for has been revealed in video form in a video walkthrough. If you wanna see the update actually functioning, watch the video below.

Activision just recently announced Guitar Hero: World Tour and now it seems that Harmonix has been working hard on the next iteration in the Rock Band series. Rock Band 2 is now scheduled for release this September on the Xbox 360 and PS3 later in the year.

Rock Band 2 will feature an all new setlist and according to Dan Teasdale, the Lead Designer, the game will feature “quieter, more realistic, and more reliable instrument.” So does this mean we’ll have to buy all new instruments? Nope. All of your old equipment will still work, but it might be hard to pass up more realistic instruments. At least for me.

Now on to the downloadable content you’ve already purchased. There’s nothing for you to worry about there. All previously purchased DLC will be fully compatible in Rock Band 2, and what’s even better is that they’ve been working with both Microsoft and Sony to develop a new way to share content between games, so they will be the first game ever to support fully functional cross-title DLC.

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Eidos and Funcom are proud to announce that Age of Conan continues to dominate the PC sales charts in all markets where the game is available. Over the last few weeks it has remained the overall #1 PC game in most European markets, whilst also ...

Two Games Announced.